Fifth-grade teacher Derek Brown of Phoenix, Arizona, wants his students to remember that he taught them how to become better people, not just better at academics. “Nobody comes to me and says, ‘Hey, Mr. Brown, remember that math test we did?’” he laughed. “No, they remember the things that had a deep impact on them as human beings.”
He loves teaching precisely because kids are moldable, like clay. “Kids grow up to be a product of their society. They are who they see, hear, and watch,” he said. He aims to teach by example behaviors of respect, kindness, generosity, and humility. “When they are around those behaviors,” he said, “they become that kind of person themselves.”
